Royals V. Angels: Game V Thread

It is hard to be my typically cynical baseball realist self when the Royals haven't lost yet. So, let's keep it happy, and snappy, at least for another day.

If you were wondering where the Royals collective body of position players currently ranks, it is second in all of baseball in Wins Above Replacement. The only two people who are not hitting are Omar Infante and Alex Gordon. Gordon at least has a .385 OBP, whereas Infante has a single, solitary hit. Meanwhile, Christian Colon is still a thing.

Right. Positive.

Jeremy Guthrie takes the mound tonight. Last season, he went 13-11 in 32 starts with a 4.13 ERA. This is his last year under contract, though the Royals do hold a $10 million club option for next season when they restructured his deal before the 2014 jaunt. I do not think it is likely that they will exercise his option, and upon reflection, it has been a decent run ever since he came over from Colorado (for Jonathan Sanchez...yeah). His ERA with the Royals is 3.92, collecting 33 of his 83 career wins with the team in two and a half seasons. He's not the cult of personality that Bruce Chen was, but he's been a productive pitcher who, with another one-Win season, will have been paid slightly less than his returned value.

On the other side of the field, the husk of Jered Weaver will do his best Chenian performance (that's not entirely fair. He was and can still be pretty good) and attempt to craft his way past what has suddenly become a potent lineup. In his first start of the year, Weaver gave up four earned in six innings while topping out at 85 MPH on his fastball. Though velocity has never been his game, you kind of have to start wondering how low you can go while stile maintaining effectiveness. He has continued to be productive so far, though his value is slowly deteriorating.

Meanwhile, Josh Hamilton continues to be a thing that the Angels have to deal with, and no one it seems is particularly sure if/when he will play and/or be suspended or be released/reinstated. It's all kind of up in the air, and he's under contract for (including this season) three years and a "You can't be serious" $90.2 million. He's basically this decade's Vernon Wells. So, good job, Arte. On both of those, actually.

LINEUPS

#Royals lineup vs. Weaver: Escobar SS Moustakas 3B Cain CF Hosmer 1B Morales DH Gordon LF Rios RF Perez C Infante 2B Guthrie P

— David Lesky (@DBLesky) April 11, 2015

Tonight's #Angels lineup pic.twitter.com/1hAUVBy7a5

— Eric Kay (@EKayAngels) April 11, 2015